Angina is tricky; it's a symptom of heart disease in adultsby Jonathan Fong, MDThis condition is chest pain or discomfort that occurs if an area of the heart muscle is lacking enough oxygen-rich blood.

As Pastor of Venice Methodist Church, 62-year-old Tom Derrough does not let much get him down.
"I'm here most every night of the week, and I wouldn't trade it in for the world," he says.

Last year, Derrough started having a burning sensation in his lungs. As an active runner he chalked it up to his age. Then, a few months later the pain spread to his chest.read in detail

Being pro-active can prevent strokes and heart attackby Spencer GaltThere is an old saying: “you are only as old as you feel.” As a vascular specialist, I disagree with that adage. In my opinion, you are only as old as your arteries and here’s why.

The circulatory system is comprised of the heart, which pumps oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to every cell, tissue, and organ in the body. The blood is distributed throughout the body by the arteries and returned to the heart by the veins where, after a trip through the lungs, the cycle is repeated innumerable times throughout life. It is a remarkably complex and effective biological system that is exquisitely fine-tuned at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Nevertheless, it is convenient to think of the circulatory system as a closed system of a pump and pipes.read in detail

Rendering the bicycle of heart disease “un-ridable”…it begins with you and your doctorby Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FAHAI have often used the analogy of a bicycle wheel in discussing risk modification with my patients.

As a Preventive Cardiologist I have a singular goal - to avert heart attacks and strokes. At first blush this may seem to be an easy task. After all, everyone knows the major risks for vascular disease – smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, unfavorable genetics, age, and gender. Understanding and identifying the causes of heart disease should make the mission of prevention rather effortless. For example, a patient presents to my office with high cholesterol and ongoing tobacco abuse.read in detail

Are you at risk for a heart attack? A $40 test may help you knowby Larry Altshuler, MDBetween 10% and 20% of all cases of coronary heart disease have been linked to elevated homocysteine levels. You could be one of these people and not even know it.

During the past few years, elevated levels of an amino acid called homocysteine have been linked to an increased risk of premature heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease (fatty deposits in peripheral arteries) and thromboembolism (blood clots), even among people who have normal cholesterol. In fact, between 10% and 20% of all cases of coronary heart disease have been linked to elevated homocysteine levels. You could be one of these people and not even know it.read in detail

Living with hypertension… diet and exercise go a long wayby Mahendr S. Kochar, MD, MACPAlthough its precise cause is unknown, heredity, high salt diet, obesity, physical inactivity, sleep apnea (labored breathing with loud snoring), and excessive alcohol intake are often associated with Hypertension.

More than 25% of the adult population in the U.S. has hypertension (HTN), and though most people with HTN are symptom free, it takes its toll in the form of arteriolosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), leading to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and peripheral arterial disease if left untreated. read in detail

Are you getting ... ALL the right HEART TESTSby Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FAHAIn America 500,000 women die yearly from cardiovascular disease, more than cancer, accidents, and diabetes combined. And here’s a statistic you may not be aware of – women consistently outnumber men when it comes to dying of cardiovascular disease.

Listen to the news: read the paper; converse with friends and family; simply live in the modern world and you will surely know that cardiovascular disease is the greatest killer of men and women.read in detail

Heart Disease in Women: Under-recognized & Under-treatedby George A. Lopez, MD, PhDAndrea was a healthy 42-year-old woman who seemed to be in good health until one evening last fall. She was reading a book just before bed when she experienced severe and sudden chest pain. She quickly became unconscious. Her husband tried to wake her to no avail. He checked to see if her heart was beating. It was not. He immediately called 911 and began CPR while he waited for help to arrive…

Heart disease is a national health crisis that leads to death in nearly 400,000 U.S. women a year. It is the number one cause of death for women at every age, contributing to more deaths annually than stroke and all types of cancer combined. Nearly 40% of the annual deaths in women in the US result from cardiovascular disease.read in detail

The heart is an amazing organ. It is a highly specialized muscle that beats just about every second from early embryonic age until death, without ever resting. The heart has to distribute oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the body from its left side and deliver low-oxygen blood from the body to the lungs from its right side. When we stand upright, the heart has to pump blood up against gravity to supply our brain with oxygen-when it fails to do this we get dizzy and eventually faint.read in detail

Most common reason for Emergency Roomby Martin E. Sturman, MDChest pain is the second most common reason for Emergency Room (ER) visits, and for most patients the first question is “Is It My Heart?”

Two Main Types of Chest Pain
How do we distinguish between the various causes of chest pain? Fortunately, the chest pain of coronary (heart) disease, anginal pain, which is due to insufficient supply of oxygen rich blood to the heart, has several characteristics. This pain is unlike all other types of chest pain, called nonanginal pain...
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